Phil Olenick

I've been a photographer for half a century, ever since I was taught
black and white darkroom work by my dad at about eight years old.

I was an early-adopter of home color printing chemistry and papers in
the nineteen-seventies, and didn't move to digital until 2007, once it
became as good as film. The deciding factor was gaining the ability to
control the whole process from beginning to end.

I make my prints using an eight-color pigment-based printer with
semi-gloss ceramic-coated paper that has thousands of tiny inkwells in
the ceramic which keep the paint from spreading sideways, enabling very
sharp - and very lively - archival enlargements.

I like all kinds of subjects (I was a yearbook photographer in high
school, specializing in candid portraits), but I'm especially drawn by
water - it's a lively randomizer that keeps our surroundings interesting.